This invention relates to outdoor cooking apparatus such as barbecue grills and the like. More particularly, it relates to barbecue grills which utilize rotisseries for cooking food.
Outdoor barbecuing has become more and more popular over the years. Often outdoor barbecue grills include a rotisserie attachment. The rotisserie attachment includes an elongated rotatable shaft with four prongs connected to the shaft for securing the meat or other food which is to be cooked.
By cooking with a rotisserie the food may be cooked more evenly than if cooking directly on a grill where it is up to the user to turn the food at the appropriate times. The rotisserie, on the other hand, permits one to more easily rotate the food and if a motor is attached to the rotisserie, the rotisserie will automatically turn the food, which reduces the margin of cooking error.
One of the problems, however, in cooking with a rotisserie is determining the correct distance above the fire bowl for the food to be located, that is, the correct height for the rotating shaft. This is particularly a problem when using charcoal because as the charcoal is consumed, the heat is reduced and thus there is a need to lower the rotisserie. On the other hand, if there is a large amount of charcoal in the fire bowl, the rotisserie should be higher.
There are a number of rotisserie grills on the market which permit the user to place the rotating shaft at predetermined, discreet levels with respect to the fire bowl. However, the electric motor, which drives the rotating shaft, must be turned off when the shaft is moved between the levels. In addition, the levels are discreet levels and thus the desired cooking temperatures might not be attained. One example of such a prior art grill is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,019 issued to Baer.
Thus there is a need to provide a rotisserie which overcomes these problems.